


Maria Di Andelo

by Chugtherainbow



Category: Percy - Fandom, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Im trying my best, M/M, Nico has a older sister, Nico is a Dork, Sad Nico di Angelo, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:06:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26100877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chugtherainbow/pseuds/Chugtherainbow
Summary: So let's say Nico di angelo has an older sister that isn't just Bianca, yeah that's it, just take Nico's story and give him an older sister that stays alive.Her name is Maria Di Angelo and all she wants to do is sleep and act like nothing bad ever happened.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Nico di Angelo & Hazel Levesque, Nico di Angelo & Original Female Character(s), Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 1
Kudos: 23





	1. It started with a dance

**Author's Note:**

> Hey-o, the first chapter or so will be an edited version of what Rick already did, now normally I would never do this but It's just a bit easier to take what rick has done and edit it. I will be writing my own stuff but just the beginning is Rick ok.
> 
> Also as most know I do not own anything Rick has written, I own nothing but my own character Maria(Yes she is named after her mom, I'm not creative) Everything that belongs to Rock belongs to Rick yea.
> 
> Enjoy, and if you have any problems, suggestions, or anything of the sort just tell me. :)

Growing up has always passed by slowly, I mean of course it did. I was stuck in a hotel that manipulates time, so yeah growing up I never really noticed when things changed, that was until everything changed very rapidly. All it took was one moment for everything to go wrong, one decision, that's all it took, all it took for me to lose everything.

It all started at a dance.

PERCY

  
It was good to see him after so many months. He'd gotten a little taller and had sprouted a few more whiskers, but otherwise he looked like he always did when he passed for human—a red cap on his curly brown hair to hide his goat horns, baggy jeans and sneakers with fake feet to hide his furry legs and hooves. He was wearing a black T-shirt that took me a few seconds to read. It said WESTOVER HALL: GRUNT. I wasn't sure whether that was, like, Grover's rank or maybe just the school motto.

“So what's the emergency?” I asked.

Grover took a deep breath. “I found three.”

“Three half-bloods?” Thalia asked, amazed. “Here?”

Grover nodded.

Finding one half-blood was rare enough. This year, Chiron had put the satyrs on emergency overtime and sent them all over the country, scouring schools from fourth grade through high school for possible recruits. These were desperate times. We were losing campers. We needed all the new fighters we could find. The problem was, there just weren't that many demigods out there.

“A brother and two sisters,” he said. “They're ten, twelve, and forteen. I don't know their parentage, but they're strong. We're running out of time, though. I need help.”

“Monsters?”

“One.“ Grover looked nervous. ”He suspects. I don't think he's positive yet, but this is the last day of term. I'm sure he won't let them leave campus without finding out. It may be our last chance! Every time I try to get close to them, he's always there, blocking me. I don't know what to do!“

Grover looked at Thalia desperately. I tried not to feel upset by that. Used to be, Grover looked to me for answers, but Thalia had seniority. Not just because her dad was Zeus.

Thalia had more experience than any of us with fending off monsters in the real world.

”Right,“ she said. ”These half-bloods are at the dance?“  
Grover nodded.

”Then let's dance,“ Thalia said. ”Who's the monster?“

”Oh,“ Grover said, and looked around nervously. ”You just met him. The vice principal, Dr.  
Thorn.“

Weird thing about military schools: the kids go absolutely nuts when there's a special event and they get to be out of uniform. I guess it's because everything's so strict the rest of the time, they feel like they've got to overcompensate or something.

There were black and red balloons all over the gym floor, and guys were kicking them in each other's faces, or trying to strangle each other with the crepe-paper streamers taped to the walls. Girls moved around in football huddles, the way they always do, wearing lots of makeup and spaghetti-strap tops and brightly colored pants and shoes that looked like torture devices. Every once in a while they'd surround some poor guy like a pack of piranhas, shriek-ing and giggling, and when they finally moved on, the guy would have ribbons in his hair and a bunch of lipstick graffiti all over his face. Some of the older guys looked more like me—uncomfortable, hanging out at the edges of the gym and trying to hide, like any minute they might have to fight for their lives. Of course, in my case, it was true…

”There they are.“ Grover nodded toward a couple of younger kids arguing in the bleachers. ”Maria, Bianca, and Nico di Angela"

The girl wore a floppy green cap, like she was trying to hide her face. The boy was obvi-ously her little brother. The last girl looked a little more tomboyish. They all had dark silky hair and olive skin, and they used their hands a lot as they talked. The boy was shuffling some kind of trading cards. His sister seemed to be scolding him about something. The oldest had her arm wrapped around the youngest nodding along with whatever he was saying. The youngest girl kept looking around like she sensed something was wrong.

Annabeth said, “Do they... I mean, have you told them?”

Grover shook his head. “You know how it is. That could put them in more danger. Once they realize who they are, their scent becomes stronger.”

He looked at me, and I nodded. I'd never really understood what half-bloods “smell” like to monsters and satyrs, but I knew that your scent could get you killed. And the more powerful a demigod you became, the more you smelled like a monster's lunch.

“So let's grab them and get out of here,” I said.

I started forward, but Thalia put her hand on my shoulder. The vice principal, Dr. Thorn, had slipped out of a doorway near the bleachers and was standing near the di Angelo siblings. He nodded coldly in our direction. His blue eye seemed to glow.

Judging from his expression, I guessed Thorn hadn't been fooled by Thalia's trick with the Mist after all. He suspected who we were. He was just waiting to see why we were here.

“Don't look at the kids,” Thalia ordered. “We have to wait for a chance to get them. We need to  
pretend we're not interested in them. Throw him off the scent.”

“How?”

“We're three powerful half-bloods. Our presence should confuse him. Mingle. Act natural. Do some dancing. But keep an eye on those kids.”

“Dancing?” Annabeth asked.

Thalia nodded. She cocked her ear to the music and made a face. “Ugh. Who chose the Jesse McCartney?”

Grover looked hurt. “I did.”

“Oh my gods, Grover. That is so lame. Can't you play, like, Green Day or something?”

“Green who?”

“Never mind. Let's dance.”

“But I can't dance!”

“You can if I'm leading,” Thalia said. “Come on, goat boy.”

Grover yelped as Thalia grabbed his hand and led him onto the dance floor.  
Annabeth smiled.

“What?” I asked.

“Nothing. It's just cool to have Thalia back.”

Annabeth had grown taller than me since last summer, which I found kind of disturbing.  
She used to wear no jewelry except for her Camp Half-Blood bead necklace, but now she wore little silver earrings shaped like owls—the symbol of her mother, Athena. She pulled off her ski cap, and her long blond hair tumbled down her shoulders. It made her look older, for some reason.

“So...” I tried to think of something to say. Act natural, Thalia had told us. When you're a half-blood on a dangerous mission, what the heck is natural? “Um, design any good buildings lately?”

Annabeth's eyes lit up, the way they always did when she talked about architecture. “Oh my gods, Percy. At my new school, I get to take 3-D design as an elective, and there's this cool computer program...”

She went on to explain how she'd designed this huge monument that she wanted to build at Ground Zero in Manhattan. She talked about structural supports and facades and stuff, and tried to listen. I knew she wanted to be a super architect when she grew up—she loves math and historical buildings and all that—but I hardly understood a word she was saying.

The truth was I was kind of disappointed to hear that she liked her new school so much. It was the first time she'd gone to school in New York. I'd been hoping to see her more often. It was a boarding school in Brooklyn, and she and Thalia were both attending, close enough to Camp Half-Blood that Chiron could help if they got in any trouble. Because it was an all-girls school, and I was going to MS-54 in Manhattan, I hardly ever saw them.

“Yeah, uh, cool,“ I said. ”So you're staying there the rest of the year, huh?“

Her face got dark. ”Well, maybe, if I don't—“

”Hey!“ Thalia called to us. She was slow dancing with Grover, who was tripping all over himself, kicking Thalia in the shins, and looking like he wanted to die. At least his feet were fake. Unlike me, he had an excuse for being clumsy.

”Dance, you guys!“ Thalia ordered. ”You look stupid just standing there.“

I looked nervously at Annabeth, then at the groups of girls who were roaming the gym.

”Well?“ Annabeth said.

”Um, who should I ask?“

She punched me in the gut. ”Me, Seaweed Brain.“

”Oh. Oh, right.“

So we went onto the dance floor, and I looked over to see how Thalia and Grover were doing things. I put one hand on Annabeth's hip, and she clasped my other hand like she was about to judo throw me.

”I'm not going to bite,“ she told me. ”Honestly, Percy. Don't you guys have dances at your school?"

I didn't answer. The truth was we did. But I'd never, like, actually danced at one. I was usually one of the guys playing basketball in the corner.

We shuffled around for a few minutes. I tried to concentrate on little things, like the crepe-paper streamers and the punch bowl—anything but the fact that Annabeth was taller than me, and my hands were sweaty and probably gross, and I kept stepping on her toes.

“What were you saying earlier?” I asked. “Are you having trouble at school or something?”

She pursed her lips. “It's not that. It's my dad.”

“Uh-oh.” I knew Annabeth had a rocky relationship with her father. “I thought it was getting better  
with you two. Is it your stepmom again?”

Annabeth sighed. “He decided to move. Just when I was getting settled in New York, he took this stupid new job researching for a World War I book. In San Francisco!'

She said this the same way she might say Fields of Punishment or Hades's gym shorts.

”So he wants you to move out there with him?“ I asked.

”To the other side of the country,“ she said miserably. ”And half-bloods can't live in San Francisco. He should know that.“

”What? Why not?“

Annabeth rolled her eyes. Maybe she thought I was kidding. ”You know. It's right there!'

“Oh,” I said. I had no idea what she was talking about, but I didn't want to sound stupid.

“So... you'll go back to living at camp or what?”

“It's more serious than that, Percy. I... I probably should tell you something.”

Suddenly she froze. “They're gone.”

“What?”

I followed her gaze. The bleachers. The two half-blood kids, Bianca and Nico, were no longer there. The door next to the bleachers was wide open. Dr. Thorn was nowhere in sight.

“We have to get Thalia and Grover!” Annabeth looked around frantically. “Oh, where'd they dance off to? Come on!”

She ran through the crowd. I was about to follow when a mob of girls got in my way. I maneuvered around them to avoid getting the ribbon-and-lipstick treatment, and by the time I was free, Annabeth had disappeared. I turned a full circle, looking for her or Thalia and Grover. Instead, I saw something that chilled my blood.

About fifty feet away, lying on the gym floor, was a floppy green cap just like the one Bianca di  
Angelo had been wearing. Near it were a few scattered trading cards. Then I caught a glimpse of Dr. Thorn. He was hurrying out a door at the opposite end of the gym, steering the youngest di Angelo kids by the scruffs of their necks, like kittens while the oldest follows besides Nico.

I still couldn't see Annabeth, but I knew she'd be heading the other way, looking for Thalia and  
Grover.

I almost ran after her, and then I thought, Wait.

I remembered what Thalia had said to me in the entry hall, looking at me all puzzled when I asked about the finger-snap trick: Hasn't Chiron shown you how to do that yet? I thought about the way Grover had turned to her, expecting her to save the day.

Not that I resented Thalia. She was cool. It wasn't her fault her dad was Zeus and she got all the attention... Still, I didn't need to run after her to solve every problem. Besides, there wasn't time. The di Angelos were in danger. They might be long gone by the time I found my friends. I knew monsters. I could handle this myself. I took Riptide out of my pocket and ran after Dr. Thorn.

The door led into a dark hallway. I heard sounds of scuffling up ahead, then a painful grunt. I  
uncapped Riptide.

The pen grew in my hands until I held a bronze Greek sword about three feet long with a leather-bound grip. The blade glowed faintly, casting a golden light on the rows of lockers.

I jogged down the corridor, but when I got to the other end, no one was there. I opened a door and found myself back in the main entry hall. I was completely turned around. I didn't see Dr. Thorn anywhere, but there on the opposite side of the room were the di Angelo kids.

They stood frozen in horror, staring right at me.

I advanced slowly, lowering the tip of my sword. “It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you.”

They didn't answer. Their eyes were full of fear. What was wrong with them? Where was Dr. Thorn? Maybe he'd sensed the presence of Riptide and retreated. Monsters hated celesti-al bronze weapons.

“My name's Percy,” I said, trying to keep my voice level. “I'm going to take you out of here, get you somewhere safe.”

Bianca's eyes widened. Her fists clenched. Only too late did I realize what her look meant.

She wasn't afraid of me. She was trying to warn me.

I whirled around and something went WHI1ISH! Pain exploded in my shoulder. A force like a huge hand yanked me backward and slammed me to the wall.

I slashed with my sword but there was nothing to hit.

A cold laugh echoed through the hall.

“Yes, Perseus Jackson” Dr. Thorn said. His accent mangled the J in my last name. “I know who you are.”

I tried to free my shoulder. My coat and shirt were pinned to the wall by some kind of spike—a black dagger-like projectile about a foot long. It had grazed the skin of my shoulder as it passed through my clothes, and the cut burned. I'd felt something like this before. Poison.

I forced myself to concentrate. I would not pass out.

A dark silhouette now moved toward us. Dr. Thorn stepped into the dim light. He still looked human, but his face was ghoulish. He had perfect white teeth and his brown/blue eyes reflected the light of my sword.

“Thank you for coming out of the gym,” he said. “I hate middle school dances.”

I tried to swing my sword again, but he was just out of reach.

WHIIIISH! A second projectile shot from somewhere behind Dr. Thorn. He didn't appear to move. It was as if someone invisible were standing behind him, throwing knives.  
Next to me, Bianca yelped. The second thorn impaled itself in the stone wall, half an inch from her face.

“All four of you will come with me,” Dr. Thorn said. “Quietly. Obediently. If you make a single  
noise, if you call out for help or try to fight, I will show you just how accurately I can throw.”

I didn't know what kind of monster Dr. Thorn was, but he was fast.  
Maybe I could defend myself if I could get my shield activated. All that it would take was a touch of my wristwatch. But defending the di Angelo kids was another matter. I needed help, and there was only one way I could think to get it.

I closed my eyes.

“What are you doing, Jackson?” hissed Dr. Thorn. “Keep moving!”

I opened my eyes and kept shuffling forward. “It's my shoulder,” I lied, trying to sound miserable,  
which wasn't hard. “It burns.”

“Bah! My poison causes pain. It will not kill you. Walk!”

Thorn herded us outside, and I tried to concentrate. I pictured Grover's face. I focused on my feelings of fear and danger. Last summer, Grover had created an empathy link between us. He'd sent me visions in my dreams to let me know when he was in trouble. As far as I knew, we were still linked, but I'd never tried to contact Grover before. I didn't even know if it would work while Grover was awake.

Hey, Grover! I thought. Thorn's kidnapping us! He's a poisonous spike-throwing maniac!

Help!

Thorn inarched us into the woods. We took a snowy path dimly lit by old-fashioned lamp-lights. My shoulder ached. The wind blowing through my ripped clothes was so cold that I felt like a Percysicle.

“There is a clearing ahead,” Thorn said. “We will summon your ride.”

“What ride?” Bianca demanded. “Where are you taking us?”

“Silence, you insufferable girl!”

“Don't talk to my sister that way.'” Nico said. His voice quivered, but I was impressed that he had the guts to say anything at all.

Dr. Thorn made a growling sound that definitely wasn't human. It made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck, but I forced myself to keep walking and pretend I was being a good little captive. Meanwhile, I projected my thoughts like crazy—anything to get Grover's attention: Grover! Apples! Tin cans! Get your furry goat behind out here and bring some heavily armed friends!

“Halt,” Thorn said.

The woods had opened up. We'd reached a cliff overlooking the sea. At least, I sensed the sea was down there, hundreds of feet below. I could hear the waves churning and I could smell the cold salty froth. But all I could see was mist and darkness.

Dr. Thorn pushed us toward the edge. I stumbled, and Bianca caught me.

“Thanks,” I murmured.

“What is he?” she whispered. “How do we fight him?”

“I... I'm working on it.”

“I'm scared,” Nico mumbled. He was fiddling with something—a little metal toy soldier of some kind.

Maria shuffled closer to Nico and wrapped her arm around him. She narrowed her eyes like she was trying to think of ways to fight him or run.

“Stop talking!” Dr. Thorn said. “Face me!”

We turned.

Thorn's two-tone eyes glittered hungrily. He pulled something from under his coat. At first I thought it was a switchblade, but it was only a phone. He pressed the side button and said, “The package—it is ready to deliver.”

There was a garbled reply, and I realized Thorn was in walkie-talkie mode. This seemed way too modern and creepy—a monster using a mobile phone.

I glanced behind me, wondering how far the drop was.

Dr. Thorn laughed. “By all means, Son of Poseidon. Jump!There is the sea. Save yourself.”

“What did he call you?” Bianca muttered.

“I'll explain later,” I said.

“You do have a plan, right?”

Grover! I thought desperately. Come to me!

Maybe I could get the di Angelos to jump with me into the ocean. If we survived the fall, I could use the water to protect us. I'd done things like that before. If my dad was in a good mood, and listening, he might help. Maybe.

“I would kill you before you ever reached the water,” Dr. Thorn said, as if reading my thoughts. “You do not realize who I am, do you?”

A flicker of movement behind him, and another missile whistled so close to me that it nicked my ear. Something had sprung up behind Dr. Thorn—like a catapult, but more flex-ible... almost like a tail.

“Unfortunately,” Thorn said, “you are wanted alive, if possible. Otherwise you would already be  
Dead.”

“Who wants us?” Bianca demanded. “Because if you think you'll get a ransom, you're wrong. We don't have any family. Nico, Maria and I...” Her voice broke a little. “We've got no one but each other.”

“Aww,” Dr. Thorn said. “Do not worry, little brats. You will be meeting my employer soon enough.  
Then you will have a brand-new family.”

“Luke,” I said. “You work for Luke.”

Dr. Thorn's mouth twisted with distaste when I said the name of my old enemy—a former friend  
who'd tried to kill me several times. “You have no idea what is happening, Perseus Jackson. I will let the General enlighten you. You are going to do him a great service tonight. He is looking forward to meeting you.”

“The General?” I asked. Then I realized I'd said it with a French accent. “I mean... who's the  
General?”

Thorn looked toward the horizon. “Ah, here we are. Your transportation.”

I turned and saw a light in the distance, a searchlight over the sea. Then I heard the chopping of  
helicopter blades getting louder and closer.

“Where are you taking us?” Nico said.

“You should be honored, my boy. You will have the opportunity to join a great army! Just like that  
silly game you play with cards and dolls.”

“They're not dolls! They're figurines! And you can take your great army and—” Maria shoved Nico behind her. She was now fully glaring at Dr. Thorn and if looks could kill.

“Now, now,” Dr. Thorn warned. “You will change your mind about joining us, my boy. And if you do not, well... there are other uses for half-bloods. We have many monstrous mouths to feed. The Great Stirring is underway.”

“The Great what?” I asked. Anything to keep him talking while I tried to figure out a plan.

“The stirring of monsters.” Dr. Thorn smiled evilly. “The worst of them, the most powerful, are now waking. Monsters that have not been seen in thousands of years. They will cause death and destruction the likes of which mortals have never known. And soon we shall have the most important monster of all—the one that shall bring about the downfall of Olympus!”

“Okay,” Bianca whispered to me. “He's completely nuts.”

“We have to jump off the cliff,” I told her quietly. “Into the sea.”

“Oh, super idea. You're completely nuts, too.”

I never got the chance to argue with her, because just then an invisible force slammed into me.

Looking back on it, Annabeth's move was brilliant. Wearing her cap of invisibility, she plowed into the di Angelos and me, knocking us to the ground. For a split second, Dr. Thorn was taken by surprise, so his first volley of missiles zipped harmlessly over our heads. This gave Thalia and Grover a chance to advance from behind—Thalia wielding her magic shield, Aegis.

If you've never seen Thalia run into battle, you have never been truly frightened. She uses a huge spear that expands from this collapsible Mace canister she carries in her pocket, but that's not the scary part. Her shield is modeled after one her dad Zeus uses—also called Aegis—a gift from Athena. The shield has the head of the gorgon Medusa molded into the bronze, and even though it won't turn you to stone, it's so horrible, most people will panic and run at the sight of it.

Even Dr. Thorn winced and growled when he saw it.

Thalia moved in with her spear. “For Zeus!”

I thought Dr. Thorn was a goner. Thalia jabbed at his head, but he snarled and swatted the spear aside. His hand changed into an orange paw, with enormous claws that sparked against Thalia's shield as he slashed. If it hadn't been for Aegis, Thalia would've been sliced like a loaf of bread. As it was, she managed to roll backward and land on her feet.

The sound of the helicopter was getting louder behind me, but I didn't dare look.

Dr. Thorn launched another volley of missiles at Thalia, and this time I could see how he did it. He had a tail—a leathery, scorpion like tail that bristled with spikes at the tip. The missiles deflected off Aegis, but the force of their impact knocked Thalia down.

Grover sprang forward. He put his reed pipes to his lips and began to play—a frantic jig that sounded like something pirates would dance to. Grass broke through the snow. Within seconds, rope-thick weeds were wrapping around Dr. Thorn's legs, entangling him.

Dr. Thorn roared and began to change. He grew larger until he was in his true form—his face still human, but his body that of a huge lion. His leathery, spiky tail whipped deadly thorns in all directions.

I heard Maria yell something like 'Mio dio' but I’m not sure what that means

“A manticore!” Annabeth said, now visible. Her magical New York Yankees cap had come off when she'd plowed into us.

“Who are you people?” Bianca di Angelo demanded. “And what is that?”

“Oh my god,” Maria screamed. “You got to be absolutely kidding me!”

“A manticore?” Nico gasped. “He's got three thousand attack power and plus five to sav-ing throws!”

I didn't know what he was talking about, but I didn't have time to worry about it. The manticore  
clawed Grover's magic weeds to shreds then turned toward us with a snarl.

“Get down!” Annabeth pushed the di Angelos flat into the snow. At the last second, I remembered my own shield. I hit my wristwatch, and metal plating spiraled out into a thick bronze shield. Not a moment too soon. The thorns impacted against it with such force they dented the metal. The beautiful shield, a gift from my brother, was badly damaged. I wasn't sure it would even stop a second volley.

I heard a thwack and a yelp, and Grover landed next to me with a thud.

“Yield!” the monster roared.

“Never!” Thalia yelled from across the field. She charged the monster, and for a second, I thought she would run him through. But then there was a thunderous noise and a blaze of light from behind us. The helicopter appeared out of the mist, hovering just beyond the cliffs. It was a sleek black military-style gunship, with attachments on the sides that looked like laser-guided rockets. The helicopter had to be manned by mortals, but what was it doing here?

How could mortals be working with a monster? The searchlights blinded Thalia, and the manticore swatted her away with its tail. Her shield flew off into the snow. Her spear flew in the other direction.

“No!” I ran out to help her. I parried away a spike just before it would've hit her chest. I raised my  
shield over us, but I knew it wouldn't be enough.

Dr. Thorn laughed. “Now do you see how hopeless it is? Yield, little heroes.”

We were trapped between a monster and a fully armed helicopter. We had no chance.

Then I heard a clear, piercing sound: the call of a hunting horn blowing in the woods.

The manticore froze. For a moment, no one moved. There was only the swirl of snow and wind and the chopping of the helicopter blades.

“No,” Dr. Thorn said. “It cannot be—”

His sentence was cut short when something shot past me like a streak of moonlight. A glowing silver arrow sprouted from Dr. Thorn's shoulder.

He staggered backward, wailing in agony.

“Curse you!” Thorn cried. He unleashed his spikes, dozens of them at once, into the woods where the arrow had come from, but just as fast, silvery arrows shot back in reply. It almost looked like the arrows had intercepted the thorns in midair and sliced them in two, but my eyes must've been playing tricks on me. No one, not even Apollo's kids at camp, could shoot with that much accuracy.

The manticore pulled the arrow out of his shoulder with a howl of pain. His breathing was heavy. I tried to swipe at him with my sword, but he wasn't as injured as he looked. He dodged my attack and slammed his tail into my shield, knocking me aside.

Then the archers came from the woods. They were girls, about a dozen of them. The youngest was maybe ten. The oldest, about fourteen, like me. They wore silvery ski parkas and jeans, and they were all armed with bows. They advanced on the manticore with determ-ined expressions.  
“The Hunters!” Annabeth cried.

Next to me, Thalia muttered, “Oh, wonderful.”

I didn't have a chance to ask what she meant.  
  
One of the older archers stepped forward with her bow drawn. She was tall and graceful with  
coppery colored skin. Unlike the other girls, she had a silver circlet braided into the top of her long dark hair, so she looked like some kind of Persian princess. “Permission to kill, my lady?”

I couldn't tell who she was talking to, because she kept her eyes on the manticore.

The monster wailed. “This is not fair! Direct interference! It is against the Ancient Laws.”

“Not so,” another girl said. This one was a little younger than me, maybe twelve or thir-teen. She had auburn hair gathered back in a ponytail and strange eyes, silvery yellow like the moon. Her face was so beautiful it made me catch my breath, but her expression was stern and dangerous. “The hunting of all wild beasts is within my sphere. And you, foul creature, are a wild beast.” She looked at the older girl with the circlet. “Zoe, permission gran-ted.”

The manticore growled. “If I cannot have these alive, I shall have them dead!”

He lunged at Thalia and me, knowing we were weak and dazed.

“No.'” Annabeth yelled, and she charged at the monster.

“Get back, half-blood!” the girl with the circlet said. “Get out of the line of fire!”

But Annabeth leaped onto the monster's back and drove her knife into his mane. The manticore  
howled, turning in circles with his tail flailing as Annabeth hung on for dear life.

“Fire!” Zoe ordered.

“No!” I screamed.

But the Hunters let their arrows fly. The first caught the manticore in the neck. Another hit his chest.

The manticore staggered backward, wailing, “This is not the end, Huntress! You shall pay!”

And before anyone could react, the monster, with Annabeth still on his back, leaped over the cliff and tumbled into the darkness.

“Annabeth!” I yelled.

I started to run after her, but our enemies weren't done with us. There was a snap-snap-snap from the helicopter—the sound of gunfire.

Most of the Hunters scattered as tiny holes appeared in the snow at their feet, but the girl with auburn hair just looked up calmly at the helicopter.

“Mortals,” she announced, “are not allowed to witness my hunt.”

She thrust out her hand, and the helicopter exploded into dust—no, not dust. The black metal  
dissolved into a flock of birds—ravens, which scattered into the night.

The Hunters advanced on us.

The one called Zoe stopped short when she saw Thalia. “You,” she said with distaste.

“Zoe Nightshade.” Thalia's voice trembled with anger. “Perfect timing, as usual.”

Zoe scanned the rest of us. “Five half-bloods and a satyr, my lady.”

“Yes,” the younger girl said. “Some of Chiron's campers, I see.”

“Annabeth!” I yelled. “You have to let us save her!”

The auburn-haired girl turned toward me. “I'm sorry, Percy Jackson, but your friend is beyond help.”

I tried to struggle to my feet, but a couple of the girls held me down.

“You are in no condition to be hurling yourself off cliffs,” the auburn-haired girl said.

“Let me go!” I demanded. “Who do you think you are?”

Zoe stepped forward as if to smack me.

“No,” the other girl ordered. “I sense no disrespect, Zoe. He is simply distraught. He does not  
understand.”

The young girl looked at me, her eyes colder and brighter than the winter moon. “I am Artemis,” she said. “Goddess of the Hunt.”

After seeing Dr. Thorn turn into a monster and plummet off the edge of a cliff with Annabeth, you'd think nothing else could shock me. But when this twelve-year-old girl told me she was the goddess Artemis, I said something real intelligent like, “Um... okay.”  
That was nothing compared to Grover. He gasped, then knelt hastily in the snow and started  
yammering, “Thank you, Lady Artemis! You're so... you're so... Wow!”

“Get up, goat boy!” Thalia snapped. “We have other things to worry about. Annabeth is gone!”

“Whoa,” Bianca di Angelo said. “Hold up. Time out.”

Everybody looked at her. She pointed her finger at all of us in turn, like she was trying to connect the dots. “Who... who are you people?”

Artemis's expression softened.“It might be a better question, my dear girl, to ask who are you! Who are your parents?”

Bianca glanced nervously at her brother, who was still staring in awe at Artemis. Then her sister who was looking around, she was probably trying to figure out what just happened.

"Our parents are dead," Bianca said. ”We're orphans. There's a bank trust that pays for our school, but...“

She faltered. I guess she could tell from our faces that we didn't believe her.

”What?“ she demanded. ”I'm telling the truth.“

”You are a half-blood,“ Zoe Nightshade said. Her accent was hard to place. It sounded old-fashioned, like she was reading from a really old book. ”One of thy parents was mortal. The other was an Olympian.“

”An Olympian... athlete?“

”No,“ Zoe said. ”One of the gods.“

”Cool!“ said Nico.

”No!“ Bianca's voice quavered. ”This is not cool!“

Nico danced around like he needed to use the restroom. ”Does Zeus really have lightning bolts that do six hundred damage? Does he get extra movement points for—“

”Nico, shut up!“ Bianca put her hands to her face. ”This is not your stupid Mythomagic game, okay? There are no gods!“

“Bia.” Maria walks over to her sister wrapping her into a hug, “Hey, hey it’s ok, I feel after what we just saw, maybe we should listen to what they have to say.”

  
As anxious as I felt about Annabeth—all I wanted to do was search for her—I couldn't help feeling sorry for the di Angelos. I remembered what it was like for me when I first learned I was a demigod.

Thalia must've been feeling something similar, because the anger in her eyes subsided a little bit. ”Bianca, I know it's hard to believe. But the gods are still around. Trust me. They're immortal. And whenever they have kids with regular humans, kids like us, well... Our lives are dangerous.“

”Dangerous,“ Bianca said, ”like the girl who fell.“

Thalia turned away. Even Artemis looked pained.

”Do not despair for Annabeth,“ the goddess said. ”She was a brave maiden. If she can be found, I shall find her.“

”Then why won't you let us go look for her?“ I asked.

”She is gone. Can't you sense it, Son of Poseidon? Some magic is at work. I do not know exactly how or why, but your friend has vanished."

I still wanted to jump off the cliff and search for her, but I had a feeling that Artemis was right.  
Annabeth was gone. If she'd been down there in the sea, I thought, I'd be able to feel her presence.

“Oo!” Nico raised his hand. “What about Dr. Thorn? That was awesome how you shot him with  
arrows! Is he dead?”

“He was a manticore,” Artemis said. “Hopefully he is destroyed for now, but monsters never truly  
die. They re-form over and over again, and they must be hunted whenever they reappear.”

“Or they'll hunt us,” Thalia said.

Bianca di Angelo shivered. “That explains... Nico... Maria, you remember last summer, those guys who tried to attack us in the alley in DC?”

“And that bus driver,” Nico said. “The one with the ram's horns. I told you that was real.”

“Nico darling.” She gave Nico a look, he only smiled back.

“That's why Grover has been watching you,” I said. “To keep you safe, if you turned out to be half-bloods.”

“Grover?” Bianca stared at him. “You're a demigod?”

“Well, a satyr, actually.” He kicked off his shoes and displayed his goat hooves. I thought Bianca was going to faint right there if her sister wasn't holding her.

“Grover, put your shoes back on,” Thalia said. “You're freaking her out.”

“Hey, my hooves are clean!”

“Bianca,” I said, “we came here to help you. You, your sister and Nico need training to survive. Dr.  
Thorn won't be the last monster you meet. You need to come to camp.”

“Camp?” she asked.

“Camp Half-Blood,” I said. “It's where half-bloods learn to survive and stuff. You can join us, stay  
there year-round if you like.”

“Sweet, let's go!” said Nico.

“Wait,” Bianca shook her head. “I don't—”

“There is another option,” Zoe said.

“No, there isn't!” Thalia said.

Thalia and Zoe glared at each other. I didn't know what they were talking about, but I could tell there was bad history between them. For some reason, they seriously hated each other.

“We've burdened these children enough,” Artemis announced. “Zoe, we will rest here for a few hours. Raise the tents. Treat the wounded. Retrieve our guests' belongings from the school.”

“Yes, my lady.”

“And Bianca, Maria come with me. I would like to speak with you two.”

“What about me?” Nico asked.

Artemis considered the boy. “Perhaps you can show Grover how to play that card game you enjoy. I'm sure Grover would be happy to entertain you for a while... as a favor to me?”

Grover just about tripped over himself getting up. “You bet! Come on, Nico!”

Nico and Grover walked off toward the woods, talking about hit points and armor ratings and a bunch of other geeky stuff. Artemis led a confused-looking Bianca and Calm-looking Maria along the cliff. The Hunters began unpacking their knapsacks and making camp.

Zoe gave Thalia one more evil look, then left to oversee things.

As soon as she was gone, Thalia stamped her foot in frustration. “The nerve of those Hunters! They think they're so... Argh!”

“I'm with you,” I said. “I don't trust—”

“Oh, you're with me?” Thalia turned on me furiously. “What were you thinking back there in the gym, Percy? You'd take on Dr. Thorn all by yourself? You knew he was a monster!”

“If we'd stuck together, we could've taken him without the Hunters getting involved. Annabeth might still be here. Did you think of that?”

My jaw clenched. I thought of some harsh things to say, and I might've said them too, but then I looked down and saw something navy blue lying in the snow at my feet. Annabeth's New York Yankees baseball cap.

Thalia didn't say another word. She wiped a tear from her cheek, turned, and marched off, leaving me alone with a trampled cap in the snow.

(Hey yea I'm just going to skip to the part in the tent yea:)

“I will find this creature,“ Artemis vowed. ”And I shall bring it back to Olympus by winter sol-stice. It will be all the proof I need to convince the Council of the Gods of how much danger we are in.“

”You know what the monster is?“ I asked.

Artemis gripped her bow. ”Let us pray I am wrong.“

”Can goddesses pray?“ I asked, because I'd never really thought about that.

A flicker of a smile played across Artemis's lips. ”Before I go, Percy Jackson, I have a small task for you.“

”Does it involve getting turned into a jackalope?“

”Sadly, no. I want you to escort the Hunters back to Camp Half-Blood. They can stay there in safety until I return.“

”What?“ Zoe' blurted out. ”But, Artemis, we hate that place. The last time we stayed there—“

”Yes, I know,“ Artemis said. ”But I'm sure Dionysus will not hold a grudge just because of a little, ah, misunderstanding. It's your right to use Cabin Eight whenever you are in need. Besides, I hear they rebuilt the cabins you burned down.“

Zoe muttered something about foolish campers.

”And now there is one last decision to make.“ Artemis turned to Bianca. ”Have you made up your minds, girls?“

Bianca hesitated. ”I'm still thinking about it.“

Maria just stays silent.

”Wait,“ I said. ”Thinking about what?“

”They... they've invited us to join the Hunt.“

”What? But you can't! You have to come to Camp Half-Blood so Chiron can train you. It's the only way you can learn to survive.“

”It is not the only way for a girl,“ Zoe said.

I couldn't believe I was hearing this. ”C'mon guys, camp is cool! It's got a pegasus stable and a sword- fighting arena and... I mean, what do you get by joining the Hunters?“

”To begin with,“ Zoe said, ”immortality."

I stared at her, then at Artemis. “She's kidding, right?”

“Zoe rarely kids about anything,” Artemis said. “My Hunters follow me on my adventures.  
They are my maidservants, my companions, my sisters-in-arms. Once they swear loyalty to me, they are indeed immortal... unless they fall in battle, which is unlikely. Or break their oath.”

“What oath?” I said.

“To forswear romantic love forever,” Artemis said. “To never grow up, never get married To be a maiden eternally.”

“Like you?”

The goddess nodded.

I tried to imagine what she was saying. Being immortal. Hanging out with only middle-school girls forever. I couldn't get my mind around it. “So you just go around the country recruiting half-bloods—”

“Not just half-bloods,” Zoe interrupted. “Lady Artemis does not discriminate by birth. All who honor the goddess may join. Half-bloods, nymphs, mortals—”

“Which are you, then?”

Anger flashed in Zoe's eyes. “That is not thy concern, boy. The point is Bianca may join if she wishes. It is her choice.”

“Bianca, Maria this is crazy,” I said. “What about your brother? Nico can't be a Hunter.”

“Certainly not,” Artemis agreed. “He will go to camp. Unfortunately, that's the best boys can do.”

“Hey!” I protested.

“You can see him from time to time,” Artemis assured them. “But you will be free of responsibility. He will have the camp counselors to take care of him. And you two will have a new family. Us.”

“A new family,” Bianca repeated dreamily. “Free of responsibility.”

“Wait, you guys can't do this,” I said. “It's nuts.”

She looked at Zoe. “Is it worth it?”

Zoe nodded. “It is.”

“I feel like now is a good time to say something.” Maria sighs looking distraught, “I’ll have to refuse your offer, Lady Artemis.”

Bianca turns over to her, “What! Why? Is it because of Nico? Maria you hear them, he'll be fine!”

Maria closes her eyes almost like she can't believe what's going on, “Bianca, listen I completely understand if going with the hunters is what you want to do, and trust me it sounds amazing, but there are many reasons why I don’t feel comfortable with this whole Immortal Huntress thing. And yes a big sum of them are because of Nico, but a few are personal.” She opens her eyes and stares at Bianca, “I love you, and I will respect any decision you choose to make, but I just can’t stand leaving Nico, I don’t want to leave you either, but this is something you want to do that I just don’t."

Everyone went silent. 

"And with that can I leave.”

Artemis nods and Maria gets up and leaves the tent. Bianca looks about ready to cry, she glances between Artemis and where her sister sat and finally said.

“What do I have to do?”

“Say this,” Zoe told her, “ 'I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis.'”

“I... I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis.”

“'I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt.'”

Bianca repeated the lines. “That's it?”

Zoe nodded. “If Lady Artemis accepts thy pledge, then it is binding.”

“I accept it,” Artemis said.

The flames in the brazier brightened, casting a silver glow over the room. Bianca looked no different, but she took a deep breath and opened her eyes wide. “I feel... stronger.”

“Welcome, sister,” Zoe said.

“Remember your pledge,” Artemis said. “It is now your life.”

I couldn't speak. I felt like a trespasser. And a complete failure. I couldn't believe I'd come all this  
way and suffered so much only to lose Bianca to some eternal girls' club.

“Do not despair, Percy Jackson,” Artemis said. “You will still get to show the Di Angelos your camp. And if Nico and Maria so chooses, they can stay there.”

“Great,” I said, trying not to sound surly. “How are we supposed to get there?”

Artemis closed her eyes. “Dawn is approaching. Zoe, break camp. You must get to Long Island  
quickly and safely. I shall summon a ride from my brother.”

Zoe didn't look real happy about this idea, but she nodded and told Bianca to follow her.

As she was leaving, Bianca paused in front of me. “I'm sorry, Percy. But I want this. I really, really do.”

Then she was gone, and I was left alone with the twelve-year-old goddess.

“So,” I said glumly. “We're going to get a ride from your brother, huh?”

Artemis's silver eyes gleamed. “Yes, boy. You see, Maria and Bianca di Angelo are not the only ones with an annoying brother. It's time for you to meet my irresponsible twin, Apollo.”

Artemis assured us that dawn was coming, but you could've fooled me. It was colder and darker and snowier than ever. Up on the hill, Westover Hall's windows were completely light-less. I wondered if the teachers had even noticed the di Angelos and Dr. Thorn were missing yet. I didn't want to be around when they did. With my luck, the only name Mrs. Gottschalk would remember was “Percy Jackson,” and then I'd be the subject of a nationwide manhunt...  
again.

The Hunters broke camp as quickly as they'd set it up. I stood shivering in the snow (unlike the  
Hunters, who didn't seem to feel at all uncomfortable), and Artemis stared into the east like she was expecting something. Bianca sat off to one side, talking with Nico, who Maria has pulled into another hug. I could tell from his gloomy face that she was explaining her decision to join the Hunt. I couldn't help thinking how selfish it was of her, abandoning her brother like that.

Thalia and Grover came up and huddled around me, anxious to hear what had happened in my  
audience with the goddess.

When I told them, Grover turned pale. “The last time the Hunters visited camp, it didn't go well.”

“How'd they even show up here?” I wondered. “I mean, they just appeared out of nowhere.”

“And Bianca joined them,” Thalia said, disgusted. “It's all Zoe's fault. That stuck-up, no good—”

“Who can blame her?” Grover said. “Eternity with Artemis?” He heaved a big sigh.

Thalia rolled her eyes. “You satyrs. You're all in love with Artemis. Don't you get that she'll never  
love you back?”


	2. We have arrived at Camp

**T** he Big House was decorated with strings of red and yellow fireballs that warmed the porch but didn't seem to catch anything on fire. Inside, flames crackled in the hearth. The air smelled like hot chocolate. Mr. D, the camp director, and Chiron were playing a quiet game of cards in the parlor. Chiron's brown beard was shaggier for the winter. His curly hair had grown a little longer.

He wasn't posing as a teacher this year, so I guess he could afford to be casual. He wore a fuzzy sweater with a hoofprint design on it, and he had a blanket on his lap that almost hid his wheelchair completely.

He smiled when he saw us. “Percy! Thalia! Ah, and this must be—”

“Nico and Maria di Angelo,” I said. “He and his sisters are half-bloods.”

Chiron breathed a sigh of relief. “You succeeded, then.”

“Well...”

His smile melted. “What's wrong? And where is Annabeth?”

“Oh, dear,” Mr. D said in a bored voice, “Not another one lost.” I'd been trying not to pay attention to Mr. D, but he was kind of hard to ignore in his neon orange leopard-skin warm-up suit and his purple running shoes. (Like Mr. D had ever run a day in his immortal life.) A golden laurel wreath was tilted sideways on his curly black hair, which must've meant he'd won the last hand of cards.

“What do you mean?” Thalia asked. “Who else is lost?”

Just then, Grover trotted into the room, grinning like crazy. He had a black eye and red lines on his face that looked like a slap mark. “The Hunters are all moved in!”

Chiron frowned. “The Hunters, eh? I see we have much to talk about.” He glanced at the Di Angelos.

“Grover, perhaps you should take our friends to the den and show them our orientation film.”

“But... Oh, right. Yes, sir.”

“Orientation film?” Nico asks glancing over to his sister, who was looking at the fireballs . “Is it G or PG? 'Cause while Maria is cool Bianca is kinda strict—”

“It's PG-13,” Grover said.

“Cool! Maria c'mon” Nico happily followed him out of the room.

“Now,” Chiron said to Thalia and me, “perhaps you two should sit down and tell us the whole story.”

When we were done, Chiron turned to Mr. D. “We should launch a search for Annabeth immediately.”

“I'll go,” Thalia and I said at the same time.

Mr. D sniffed. “Certainly not!” 

Thalia and I both started complaining, but Mr. D held up his hand. He had that purplish angry fire in his eyes that usually meant something bad and godly was going to happen if we didn't shut up.

“From what you have told me,” Mr. D said, “we have broken even on this escapade. We have, ah, regrettably lost Annie Bell—”

“Annabeth,” I snapped. She'd gone to camp since she was seven, and still Mr. D pretended not to know her name.

“Yes, yes,” he said. “And you procured a weirdly quite girl, and a small annoying boy to replace her. So I see no point risking further half-bloods on a ridiculous rescue. The possibility is very great that this Annie girl is dead.”

I wanted to strangle Mr. D. It wasn't fair Zeus had sent him here to dry out as camp director for a hundred years. It was meant to be a punishment for Mr. D's bad behavior on Olympus, but it ended up being a punishment for all of us.

“Annabeth may be alive,” Chiron said, but I could tell he was having trouble sounding up-beat. He'd practically raised Annabeth all those years she was a year-round camper, before she'd given living with her dad and stepmom a second try. “She's very bright. If... if our enemies have her, she will try to play for time. She may even pretend to cooperate.”

“That's right,” Thalia said. “Luke would want her alive.”

“In which case” said Mr. D, “I'm afraid she will have to be smart enough to escape on her own.”

I got up from the table.

“Percy.” Chiron's tone was full of warning. In the back of my mind, I knew Mr. D was not somebody to mess with. Even if you were an impulsive ADHD kid like me, he wouldn't give you any slack. But I was so angry I didn't care.

“You're glad to lose another camper,” I said. “You'd like it if we all disappeared!”

Mr. D stifled a yawn. “You have a point?”

“Yeah,” I growled. “Just because you were sent here as a punishment doesn't mean you have to be a lazy jerk! This is your civilization, too. Maybe you could try helping out a little!”

For a second, there was no sound except the crackle of the fire. The light reflected in Mr. D's eyes, giving him a sinister look. He opened his mouth to say something—probably a curse that would blast me to smithereens—when Nico burst into the room, followed by Grover than Maria.

“SO COOL!” Nico yelled, holding his hands out to Chiron. “You're... you're a centaur!”

Chiron managed a nervous smile. “Yes, Mr. di Angelo, if you please. Though, I prefer to stay in human form in this wheelchair for, ah, first encounters.”

“And, whoa!” He looked at Mr. D. “You're the wine dude? No way!”

Mr. D turned his eyes away from me and gave Nico a look of loathing. “The wine dude?”

“Dionysus, right? Oh, wow! I've got your figurine.”

“My figurine.”

“In my game, Mythomagic. And a holofoil card, too! And even though you've only got like five hundred attack points and everybody thinks you're the lamest god card, I totally think your powers are sweet!”

“Ah.” Mr. D seemed truly perplexed, which probably saved my life. “Well, that's... gratify-ing.”

“Percy,” Chiron said quickly, “you and Thalia go down to the cabins. Inform the campers we'll be playing capture the flag tomorrow evening.”

“Capture the flag?” I asked. “But we don't have enough—”

“It is a tradition,” Chiron said. “A friendly match, whenever the Hunters visit.”

“Yeah,” Thalia muttered. “I bet it's real friendly.”

Chiron jerked his head toward Mr. D, who was still frowning as Nico talked about how many defense points all the gods had in his game, and Maria who’s using her bother's head as an arm rest. “Run along now,” Chiron told us.

“Oh, right,” Thalia said. “Come on, Percy.”

She hauled me out of the Big House before Dionysus could remember that he wanted to kill me.

“You've already got Ares on your bad side,” Thalia reminded me as we trudged toward the cabins. “You need another immortal enemy?”

She was right. My first summer as a camper, I'd gotten in a fight with Ares, and now he and all his children wanted to kill me. I didn't need to make Dionysus mad, too.

“Sorry,” I said. “I couldn't help it. It's just so unfair.”

She stopped by the armory and looked out across the valley, toward the top of Half-Blood Hill. Her pine tree was still there, the Golden Fleece glittering in its lowest branch. The tree's magic still protected the borders of camp, but it no longer used Thalia's spirit for power.

  
  
  


**MARIA**

Well, I have to say after the whole thing with Dr. Thorn and then Bainca leaving Nico and I for the hunters, I thought nothing would shock me, but then I met the sun god, rode in his magical changing sun bus, then crashed into a lake. 

Let’s just say I really wanna take a nap.

When we finally got out of the bus I couldn’t really focus on the camp like Nico could. I only watch as Bianca went off with the hunters, but only after saying something to Nico.

“Hey, what did she say that got you looking so down?” I ask Nico, bending down a little to his height.

He scowls and looks away, “Nothing, I don’t want to talk about it right now.”

I stood up straight, “That’s fine let’s go talk with Percy, Yea.” He nods and we walk up to Percy.

“Who's Chiron?” Nico askes Percy. “I don't have his figurine.”

“Our activities director,” he said. “He's... well, you'll see.”

“If those Hunter girls don't like him,” Nico grumbled, “that's good enough for me. Let's go.”

As we walked I noticed how there were very few campers. One kid was messing with a fire in front of a shed with a bunch of weapons, a few others were having a snowball fight with what looks like tree people. We finally stopped at a house decorated with stings or fireballs, that only made me wonder how nothing is catching on fire, but then I remember that pretty much anything is possible at this point so I just go onto admiring how memorizing it is.

Inside there are two men playing a game of cards, both looking pretty old. One was in a wheelchair, though it was pretty hard to tell since he had a blanket that covered almost completely, the other was wearing a neon orange warm-up suit with a leopard-skin print on it.

The wheelchair man smiled at us. “Percy! Thalia! Ah, and this must be—”

“Nico and Maria di Angelo,” Percy said. “He and his sisters are half-bloods.”

Wheelchair man breathed a sigh of relief. “You succeeded, then.”

“Well...” Percy started.

His smile melted. “What's wrong? And where is Annabeth?”

“Oh, dear,” Neon Orange said in a board tone. “Not another one lost.”

I thought that was quite rude, a girl probably died and he seems completely unbothered by it.

“What do you mean?” Thalia asked. “Who else is lost?”

After she said that, the goat man from earlier walked in grinning like crazy. He had a black eye and red lines on his face, he was probably slapped. “The Hunters are all moved in!”

Chiron frowned. “The Hunters, eh? I see we have much to talk about.” He glanced over to Nico and I.

“Grover, perhaps you should take our friends to the den and show them our orientation film.”

“But... Oh, right. Yes, sir.”

“Orientation film?” I heard Nico ask. “Is it G or PG? 'Cause while Maria is cool Bianca is kinda strict—”

“It's PG-13,” Goat man said.

“Cool! Maria c'mon!” Nico yelled for me, happily following him out of the room.

“Wait, Nico,” I yelled after him. “You can’t just follow random people.” 

He only laughs.

“Hey I’m not some random person!” Goat man said, sounding quite offended. “I watched you brother while you were talking with Lady Artemis.”

I looked him over. “Yeah thank you for that, but I still don’t know who you are.”

“Hey Maria it’s ok, Grover is pretty nice, besides I know him so you can trust him.” Nico said.

I looked between him and the goat man now known as Grover. “Let’s just go see this orientation film.” I said gesturing to Grover to continue walking.

_(After the film)_

I got to say, I didn’t know what to expect the film to be like, all I know is that I hope no one else has to see that. Nico seemed to like it though, but then again he seems to be liking everything he sees.

As we walk up to the house Nico is going off about how cool the tape was and more stuff about the Greek gods and their attack points and such. Grover seems to be pretty inserted in mythomagic, I only really say that cause he is keeping the conversation going, despite probably having no clue what Nico is talking about. 

“SO COOL!” Nico yelled, as soon as we walked into the house.

“You're... you're a centaur!” He said while pointing at the wheelchair dude now known officially as Chiron.

Chiron managed a nervous smile. “Yes, Mr. di Angelo, if you please. Though, I prefer to stay in human form in this wheelchair for, ah, first encounters.”

“And, whoa!” He looked at Mr. D. “You're the wine dude? No way!”

Neon Orange or Dionysus, but most call him Mr. D, turned his eyes away from Percy and gave Nico a look of loathing. “The wine dude?”

“Dionysus, right? Oh, wow! I've got your figurine.”

“In my game, Mythomagic. And a holofoil card, too! And even though you've only got like five hundred attack points and everybody thinks you're the lamest god card, I totally think your powers are sweet!”

“Ah.” Mr. D seemed confused. “Well, that's... gratify-ing.”

“Percy,” I heard Chiron say, “you and Thalia go down to the cabins. Inform the campers we'll be playing capture the flag tomorrow evening.”

“Capture the flag?” Percy asked. “But we don't have enough—”

“It is a tradition,” Chiron said. “A friendly match, whenever the Hunters visit.”

Chiron jerked his head towards me and I quickly turned my attention to Mr. D, who was still frowning as Nico talked about how many defense points all the gods had in his game. I wonder how Nico remembers all that, but then I think back to all the books I read, most about plants, and suddenly I’m not questing it anymore. I look over and see Thalia pull Percy out the house.

“So, um, what now, we watched the orientation film what do we do after that?” I asked looking at Chiron since he seems a bit more in charge than Mr. D did. 

That got Nico’s attrition away from Mr. D, “Yeah, what do we do now? Oh oh can I climb the wall?” Nico asks looking pretty excited to climb a wall that spews lava. 

“Well, my dear boy I’m afraid you won’t be able to climb the lava wall for awhile. How about you Grover and your sister go get settled in the Hermes cabin then maybe set off towards the armory if you have time.” Chiron said in a way that sounded like he had to say the sentence many times before.

“Okay.” Nico wines out, probably unset with not being able to climb the lava wall, but being honest I'm glad he won’t be able to climb the wall yet. But he perks up and looks at Grover. “Hey, Mr. Chiron said that we could go to the armory, does that mean I’ll be able to get a sword!” He’s pretty much jumping out his shoes with the amount of excitement he’s radiating.

Grover smiles “Your right little buddy, but only after you settle down in your cabin alright.”

Nico nods quickly and follows Grover as he starts to walk out the door I quickly follow behind. As we walk towards where all the cabins are placed Grover points out all the activities we pass. When we passed by the armory I had to hold Nico back from running off and going straight there. When we arrived where all the cabins were placed they were all arranged in a U shape and in the middle there was a fire pit that, despite snow being everywhere there was no snow around the pit. There was a young girl there though and as Grover was explaining the cabins to Nico I decided to walk up to her.

“Hello, aren't you a bit cold, I know the fire must be warm but you must still be cold?” I ask sitting next to her.

She looks over and smiles. “No it’s alright. While it is cold around the fire of the hearth keeps me warm you see. Aren't you much warmer being next to it.”

Looking over to the fire I noticed that, yes I am much warmer than I expected, but it was nice.

“Does the warmth remind you of anything?”

I thought about it for a moment, and suddenly I remembered my mother. I don't have much memories of her, but sitting here reminds me of how she would read to me in front of the fireplace, telling me stories that I no longer remember.

“Yeah… My mom… she used to read to me, but I don’t remember much about the stories.”

“That's ok.” The little girl smiles. “We forget some things from the past sometimes, but that's ok, cause in the end of everyday what matters most is what you have right in front of you.”

“That’s quite insightful. Thank you”

“Hey, Maria, who’s that?” Nico asks running over to me and the little girl. “Hey, I’m Nico.”

“Hello Nico, I’m Hestia goddess of the hearth.” 

“Wow no way, that's so cool! I have your card, you have low attack points, but that's ok cause what you lack in attack you make up with defense!” And with that Nico starts to go on about how cool her card was, but all I could really focus on is how I asked the goddess of the hearth if she was cold.

Hestia laughs. “That’s quite amazing dear, but I think you two should go back with Grover, don’t want to miss out on the armory right?”

“Oh yea!” Nico shouts. “Come on Maria let’s go, I was nice meeting you Miss Hestia!”

So with that Nico precedes to grab me my arm and drag me towards where he left Grover, I quickly say bye to Hestia.

“Hey, what were you two doing over there?” Grover askes.

“What? You don’t see Miss Hestia is right over there,” Nico said pointing to where we just were.

“Um, Nico nobody is over there.” Grover states confused.

Nico and I quickly look over to see that he’s right, nobody’s there.

“What! but she was there, Me and Maria were just talking to her!” Nico wines.

“Maybe it was your imagination?”

“What no way! I’m sure we were talking to her!” 

And before Grover could say anything else I spoke up, “Nico remember, she's a goddess right maybe she left.”

“Oh yea, that’s it. She left.” He smiles.

“Yea, ok, let’s get you to the cabins, then maybe we’ll have time for the armory.”

The walk to the Hermes cabin was really quick, probably because I was one of the first cabins you see in the U shape that all the cabins make. Grover also explained how all unclaimed Demi-gods stay in the Hermes cabin because he is the god of travelers. When we walked in there were a few kids here and there, the floor was covered in sleeping bags and a bunch of other miscellaneous stuff.

“Hey, does anybody know where the Strolls are?” Grover asks looking around.

“Um I think they’re still trying to get into the camp store.” A girl answered not looking up from her book.

“Actually we are,” “Right here.” We turned around and there stood two boys with two different bags in their hands, they looked almost completely similar. I can only guess that they are twins.

“Ah nice, hey do you think you could take these two, they’re undetermined, Chiron wants them to visit the armory and that seems more up to your guys speed.” Grover said gesturing over to us.

“Yea, no problem dude.” they said at the same time. Grover nodes and walks out of the cabin leaving me and Nico alone.

The twins look between Nico and I. “So you two must be the new campers.” One of them asks.

“Yup that’s us, who are you?” Nico asks, trying to secretly grab my hand cause while he is pretty social he’s not the biggest fan of meeting people randomly like this.

“Well we are,” “Travis,” “And Conner,” “Stroll.” They smiled, introducing themselves at the same time. “So what are your names?” “Oh and this is yours.” One asked, while they gave use the bags they were holding.

“Um, thank you, I’m Nico Di Angelo and this is my sister Maria.” Nico answered looking at the bag he was given.

“Nice, one of those is toiletries,” “And the other is sleeping bags.” “Go quickly find a place to put your stuff,” “Then come out and well go to the armory.” They said, still smiling, I wonder if their face hurt.

Nico and I quickly found an empty place on the floor to put our stuff, Nico refused to put his Mythomagic stuff down claiming that he doesn't want to lose anything. We walked over to the Stroll brother and started the walk to the armory, but halfway there we heard a loud ringing sound.

“Ah man, that was the dinner bell, looks like we won’t be able to make it to the armory to day guys.” Who I think was Conner said.

“Huh why, I’ve been waiting for it all day.” Nico wines.

“Hey don’t worry Neeks I’m sure you’ll be able to see it tomorrow, let’s go eat. You must be hungry from all the stuff you saw today.” I said holding out my hand.

He thinks about it for a bit before nodding and grabbing my hand and starts to follow Conner and Travis.

“This is the Mess Hall, this is where we eat, let sit.” One of the Strolls say, and at this point I gave up trying to tell them apart, I’ll do that tomorrow.

We went and sat with, what I'm guessing is, the rest of our cabin. I look around noticing how Percy and Thalia sat alone. I also saw how much happier Bianca looks, and I can’t help but feel a bit upset, she never seemed that happy when she was with us. But hey she’s happy now and that's what matters most right. 

I sigh to myself and look over to Nico, who’s happily talking with the Strolls about how Mythomagic is much better than poker. I'm happy that he’s so happy, this is pretty much his dream come true, ever since he found out about Mythomagic he’s been obsessed with it, and finding out that the whole thing is pretty much real. He must be walking on clouds with how happy he is. I look down to my half full plate of food. The Strolls explained how we have to put some of our food in the fire for the gods, something about how they like the smell.

I pick up my drink, Root Beer just like the type I-

I stopped, why do I like root beer so much again? I don’t remember. I look down at my drink a bit confused, but I just shrug it off. Why I like it is not that important all I know is that I do. It's a good drink.

After everyone was pretty much done eating Chiron made a toast to the gods and formally welcomed the Hunters of Artemis. The clapping was pretty half hearted. Then he announced the “good will” capture-the-flag game for tomorrow night, and whatever Capture-the-flag was, people here seem to really like it as it got a lot more claps.

After that we were sent off to our cabins to sleep, which I can’t wait for, god- well gods am I tired. 

“Hey Maria, wasn’t today so cool! Like we got to meet three, wait no, four gods today! Isn’t that amazing!” Yet unsurprisingly Nico wasn’t as he was pretty much bouncing with excitement going off about all the cool stuff he saw today. It made me happy, that despite getting attacked and losing Bianca he was still the little ball of sunshine he always is. 

“Ok, you had a great day alright, now it’s time to sleep tesoro.” I said, after I finished setting up the sleeping bags and grabbed Nico into a hug.

“But Mia, I'm not tired yet.” He wines.

“Are you sure? We did a lot today, hey even I’m tired.”

“Yea I’m positive, plus you're always tired so does it really count.” 

“Oh ouch that hurt!” I said falling onto the bags clenching my chest. “Insulted by my own brother! Oh the pain!”

He only laughs and shoves me. “Hey don’t act like that, I’m right, besides you're the one always complaining about how tired you are.” 

“You little punk! Come here.” I grab him, pulling him down to the floor hugging him tightly. “Now that I got you it’s time to sleep.”

“But I'm not tired!” 

“You sure about that buddy.” 

He goes to say something but gets cut off by a yawn.

I chuckle “Yea let’s go to bed.”

After that he went to bed pretty quickly, which I expected. Nico is always ageist going to bed but as soon as his head hits the pillow he’s out like a light. Me on the other hand, let’s just say I often get to see what the sunrise looks like, but surprisingly tonight I was out only minutes after Nico.

If only I have stayed awake.

  
  


My dreams were never really normal, sometimes it's just minor future things like what lunch the school is giving out or what dress my teacher might wear, but most of the time it’s blurry faces and bright colors that I can never make out in the morning. But tonight everything was very clear.

“I'm a lot of things, but I'm not a thief.” I said, yet it didn’t seem like my voice.

Bianca was there but she looked upset, but dream me couldn't really ask what’s wrong cause very quickly we were getting attacked. We tried to run but the thing just caught up like it was nothing. Dream me and Bianca were hiding, we seemed to be talking but I couldn’t make out about what. The thing tried to attack us again but it was stopped, Bianca pulled something out of her pocket then dropped it and we were then attacked again, but not us someone else, I couldn’t make out who.

Dream me looked over to Bianca and said “Crazy-idea time.”

She looked back and said “Anything.”

Dream me said something about a hatch and switches, about how maybe there was a way to control it. I didn’t get much of what Bianca said next, but she placed something in my hand and went running after the monster.

Dream me screamed. “Bianca, no!” And next thing I know is that Bianca is in the robot monster thing running away, the thing breaking itself down. When I reached the wreckage I was searched frantically, yelling Bianca's name. It was no use, she was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey-o, I just wanted to quickly mention the reason why I made the first chapter in Percy's pov. The reason I did is because I thought I'll be a little easier to introduce my character and how she fits in the story.  
> As most of you probably already noticed that even though Maria is older, Bianca is still the disciplinarian, and this isn't because Maria won't do it. It's just that Maria more carefree and caring, she's just trying to make sure her siblings are happy, while Bianca is very concerned about their safety, like they both care about Nico's safety but in their own way.
> 
> Oh also I'm sorry for all the grammar mistakes I've made and haven't noticed, I'm not really the best at that stuff... yea. thats all :)


	3. She's alive... She's happy

I woke up crying.

Normally I would say this is uncommon, but really that’ll be a lie and I kinda hate lying.

I sat up and looked around, pretty much everybody is still asleep which makes sense, it’s barely even light out, probably around five. Nico is still holding me, kinda, he’s mainly hugging my waist since I sat up. Normally I would just shake myself of the dream I had and go back to sleep, but the dream I had… It really bothered me… It seemed too real to just be a dream.

“Hmm, let me guess a demigod dream huh?” I looked over to where the voice came from, it was the girl from earlier, the one who answered Grover’s question. She looked a bit older than me, maybe 16ish, she had dark brown hair and pretty tan skin.

“I um… I don’t really know what that means, but I’m going to assume yes?” I answered, which really was more of a question.

“Well you woke up crying and most kids here who wake up crying here often had a nightmare or something of the sort,” she yawned and grabbed a jacket from a bag near her bed, “My name’s Nova, grab a jacket.”

She got up and left the cabin. Her tone was nice but in a demanding way, which I was a little shocked by, didn’t know you could be demanding and nice. I quickly grabbed my jacket and followed. I was clearly in no position to tell her no, she didn’t even give me a chance to.

When I left the cabin she was standing outside, leaning against the railing that surrounded the whole cabin just watching the cloud from her breathing fade into the cold winter air. Or at least that's what I thought she was doing, since she was just making smoke come from her mouth by blowing into the air. When the door made a sound by closing she turned around and nodded her head, indicating that she wants me to follow her. 

We ended up walking to the bathrooms, the whole walk was pretty silent only sound really being the crunch of the snow from our boots. It was nice, when I normally wake up from nightmares I like to just get up and walk around, enjoying the silence. I grew up with two completely opposite siblings who disagree more than they agree. The rare silence was nice. When we arrived she finally said something.

“Wash your face, I’m going to go use the toilet.” With that she walked away. 

The bathroom was kinda big and clannish, there was a line of toilets on one side  
and a line of shower stalls down the other and in the middle were the sinks. I went and cleaned my face, it gave me a little time to think, the dream really scared me, what happened with Bianca bothered me. I’ve had many nightmares but none where siblings died.

Nova was back quickly, I’m quite glad she gave me her name. I hate not knowing someone's name, I don’t really know why but it always bothers me when I talk to someone and I don’t know what to call them.

“So kid, wanna talk about it?” She asks, pushing herself up to sit on the counter top after washing her hands. 

I turned and leaned my back against the sink, I stayed quiet. I didn’t really know what to say. I've never been good with talking to people I don’t know. 

“Do you have nightmares often?.” She said, probably sensing my hesitance to talk.

“Um, yes, nightmares are a common thing, but most of the time I forget what the dream is about, yet this time I remember.”

“Damn that sucks. So what was this dream about?”

“My sister… My younger sister died to some robot monster thing, it’s a bit stupid but I never had dreams of my siblings dying so I’m a bit shaken by it.”

“Hey! That’s not stupid, demigod’s nightmares are very important, they always mean something more often than not they tell the future.”

I just stared at her, did she just say my sister's death was going to happen. “Um I got to say as someone who always has to console people younger than me you're doing a pretty bad job at making me calm down.”

“Ah, um… Normally I’m much better at this… sorry.”

“It’s ok, I just rather not talk about it now… Not because of you though, I just don’t like talking about my dreams.” That was partly true, I really don’t like talking about my dreams, but I also don’t know her and what she said makes me not want to think about it much.

“Ah okay. Um I do have a question though. Where's your sister? I didn’t see her with you all day.”

“Oh,” I wince, “Yea she joined the hunters before we got to camp.”

“Woh that sucks kid, can’t believe she left like that. You must be pretty upset after that huh.”

“I’m pretty upset, but I let her go,” I turned around sighed, “I didn’t really ask why. All I did was tell her that I didn’t want to do it and that she can if she wants to.... Does letting her go make me a bad sister?”

I heard Nova sigh. “Well, I don’t know much about the Hunters, but I got to say you made the right choice. Not because being a hunter is bad or anything, but because you let Bianca make the decision for herself. I believe most people in your situation wouldn’t let their little sister make such a big decision. She’s probably much happier that you let her decide.”

Her words helped me a little, but not much. I remember Bianca’s face when Artemis told her she would have a new family, how she would be free of responsibility, she looked so happy like a weight was lifted from her shoulders. It made me think about all the times she and Nico argued , all the times she was responsible and I wasn’t. To her Nico and I were probably a burden, and now she’s freed from us. I feel like I failed as an older sister, like I did something wrong.

Bianca wasn’t happy with us, and it feels like it’s my fault. 

“You feel any better?” Nova asks. 

I could only nod, I feel much more tired than I was before.

She looks down at her watch, something I didn’t notice she had before. “It’s almost 6, breakfast is probably ready now but I can take you back to the cabin to get more sleep if you want.”

I nod again “I would like to go back to the cabin please.” I’m really tired, it almost feels like the whole weight of what happened just fell on me.

“Ok lets go.”

With that we walked out the bathrooms and were hit with how cold it was outside. It was nice, I’m always cold but being out in the snow felt nice sometimes. Everything is so quiet, all you can do is think and admire the beauty.

The walk back to the cabin was quick, almost no one was awake and those who were left to do their own things.

“The breakfast bell rings at 8, I can come back to get you if you want?” Nova asks.

“No it's ok Nico will most likely wake me up.” Nova was really nice, she had an older sister feeling to her.

She nods, “Ok, I’ll probably be at arts and crafts all day so if you need me I’ll be there.” 

With that she walks back out of the cabin. I went back to where Nico is sleeping, he looks so peaceful like nothing bad could touch him. I hope it stays that way. I sit down next to him, I’m most likely not going to be able to go back to sleep, despite how tired I am. 

Instead I look through my bag and pull out two books. One had a leather cover with no design on it but it did have a clasp that kept it close. The other was a torn three subject notebook with “Dream Journal” written in sharpie on the front. When Nico, Bianca and I entered Westover I started having strange dreams, they always seemed like memories but I could never really put them together. I always forgot a lot of pieces of the dream. So I wrote down what I remember, but it’s not going too well, every time I think I get close to finding it out I end up forgetting again. It’s like there's always something stopping me from remembering my past, I think it’s also affecting Nico and Bianca, but I don't really want to ask them about it. I don’t want them to start thinking about it like I am. I quickly write down my dream before I can forget it.

I put the notebook away and open the other book. I don’t really remember where I got it from, I just always had it. I think it belongs to my mom, or someone in my family at least. When you open it, on the first page is my last name written in really fancy cursive. The whole book is just filled with random things, some parts of the book are children's stories, some are cooking instructions, and some are just random facts. I open it and start reading. The second page is the start of a fable.

I don’t remember when I started reading, but next thing I know a loud bell is going off in the distance, probably symbolizing that it’s officially breakfast time, and Nico is repeatedly poking me in the knee.

“You know if you continue to sit like that you’ll break your back.” I quickly look up from my book to Nico. He was smiling like he never said anything.

“Who told you that?” I ask.

His smile widens “You.” 

My eyebrows narrow. He’s wrong, but telling him that is like saying I’m wrong, and you never tell your younger sibling you're wrong. “Okay tesoro,” I stand up, trying to straighten my back a little without him noticing, “Time to get up.”

He happily stands up, rubbing his face a little, then stretches, but other than that there's no traces of sleep. 

I grab Nico and myself a change of clothes, along with the soaps and loofahs we were given. Nico and I head for the bathrooms, getting ready for the day then meeting up and head towards the Mess Hall where we eat Breakfast.  
We ended up meeting the Stoll brothers during breakfast, where we learned what we would be doing for the day.

“Ok so here’s what’s going down.” One of them says, I’m guessing he’s Travis. 

“So we’re going to take you two down to the armory to get you a weapon and train you for a while.” The other starts, he must be Conner. 

“You know, getting you ready for the epic Capture the Flag game we're going to have tonight.” Travis cuts his brother off.

“Then after that you can do pretty much whatever you want to.” They end at the same time. Them talking at the same time bothers me a bit. How do they always know what the other is going to say? Do they script conversations beforehand?

"Ooo do I get a sword? Can I have a sword?" Nico questions excitedly.  
One of the Stolls laughs, “Most likely kid, most kids here get chosen by a sword.”  
Nico tilts his head, “Um what do you mean by that?”  
“Well, the weapon is supposed to choose you or something of the sort, a bit cliche, but that's just how it works.”  
Nico and I continued to talk with the strolls till breakfast ended. Which is where we walked to the armory. Burning the walk I found out the Strolls are not twins, which surprised me, it made me wonder why they acted like twins

“So have a look around, pick up stuff, see what you like.” Conner said. His brother left off to do his own stuff.  
Nico looked around happily, rushing over to where the swords were placed, picked up one and started to swing it around. He did that a few times. Conner just watched him laughing at the swishing sounds Nico made every time he swung a sword. The sight made me smile.

“So kid, any of them fit your taste?” Conner walked over to Nico, who looked a bit confused.

“No of them seem to fit…. I didn’t feel chosen.” Nico placed the sword he’s holding down.

“Hey, maybe your sword wasn’t made yet. How about you just pick one you feel would fit for now?”

Nico nodded and went off to find a sword.

Conner looked over to me, “So what about you, see a weapon you like?”

I looked around, “I’m not quite sure what I should be looking for, a standard sword seems nice but it doesn’t really fit me… Maybe something longer.”

Conner put his chin in his hand, in a thinking like way. “Well we have a bunch of stuff, stat looking around.”

I looked around, I picked up a few things and looked at it. A dagger is nice, but too small. I picked up a sword, it looked nice but felt short. I put it down and picked up another sword. This one is much longer than the last. The blade made up most of the length it was double sided. There was mostly nothing special about it, yet it seemed nice in my hand.

“That's a long sword,” I look over to Conner, “It’s a good weapon, but a bid harder to swing because of the hilt to blade length differences.”

I nod and just continue to hold the sword, not making any fancy swings like Nico is.

Speaking of Nico, he ran up to me and Connor with a sword a foot or so shorter than my own, “I like this one!” He had a big grin on his face, he was doing a little dance, something he always did when he was happy.

“Nice kid, let’s go get some training in for tonight, then you can go explore the camp.” Connor grinned.

With that we went off to what Conner calls the arena. I sit on the side watching as Conner shows Nico and I few moves to practice. He also explained how some things may feel off for me since my weapon is longer.  
We practiced for a bit, Connor showed us a few moves. He explained how to do the movements and did a few examples on Nico and I, then made us do it august each other. I seemed to have a bit more control over my sword, despite it being longer. I think it has to do with the fact I have a bit more strength in my arms. Something I only have because I'm a bit older. 

After a while Connor stopped us, saying how we did enough for today and walked off.

“Hey Mia, what made you choose that?” I looked up from where I was digging my shoe in the dirt to Nico.

I shrugged, “A sword looked nice, I just felt like something a bit different longer fit better.” I didn’t really have a big reason why I felt like a longer sword would be nice. It just feels better.

“Maybe you like it cause you like swinging a broom around?” He looks up thoughtfully, “But if that was the case you would’ve just chosen a spear or something like that..”

I raise my brow. I mean he wasn’t wrong, swinging a broom around is just fun, “I don’t really have a reason for liking my weapon, just feels nice. What about you, why do you like the sword so much?”

Nico grinned widely, “Look at me Mia, don’t I look like a pirate?” He put his hand on his hip and held his sword up, like a pirate would.

I laugh, “Of course you do tesoro.”

With that Nico went back to swing the sword around and I just looked around. Nico stopped and looked back at me.

“Can we do something else?” he wines.

I laughed, I was expediting him to get bored soon, “How about we go look for Bia and see what she’s doing?” Nico pretty much glowed with excitement at the suggestion. 

“Common Mia let’s go look for Bianca!” Nico quickly gets to work pulling on my arm to get me up quicker.

Nico and I went around camp trying to find out where Bianca. Well more like Nico asked every person we came by where she is, and I had to explain that we’re looking for the hunters, cause she is most likely with them if anything.

We ended up finding her at the archery range with a bunch of other hunters, a few were teaching her how to use the bow. Nico and I walked over. She turned to us and smiled. She was happy. She was free. She was alive. 

How happy she looked got rid of the regret I had since I told her it was her choice to become a hunter.

Seeing her again helped me brush off the sadness that I’ve been feeling since this morning. 

Her being here, happy, made me remember that dreams are just dreams. Bianca was safe, she has a new family that’ll protect her better than I can. 

And that's all that matters.

She’s safe and she’s happy. 

She made the right choice.

I made the right choice. She need to be free.


End file.
